Judith Drazidio*, Simon Peter Kirabira, Christine Atuhairwe, John Bosco Alege
Background: Hepatitis B virus is the primary leading cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV patients and remains a remarkable public health burden. The global prevalence of co-infection is 7.4%, 23% in Uganda, and 1.68% in the Adjumani district. In 2016, The World Health Assembly endorsed the global health sector strategy on viral hepatitis, which calls for the elimination of viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030. As a measure, Uganda adopted WHO guidelines that recommend hepatitis B testing in all HIV-infected patients, but only 46% of them have screened. Therefore, this study assessed factors influencing HBV co-infection among HIV patients attending ART clinics in Mungula health Center IV, Adjumani district.
Methods: The study employed a hospital-based cross-sectional study design where 226 respondents were interviewed using researcher administered technique. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the study unit and respondents. In the analysis, the Chi-square test established the level of association between each independent variable and HBV-co-infection while binary logistic regression analysis determined factors accountable for co-infection in HIV patients using an odds ratio at 95% confidence interval.
Results: 14.16% out of 226 respondents were found co-infected. The factors found associated included HBV screening [OR=3.29, 95%CI: 1.071-10.137, p-0.02], Vaccination against HBV [OR=12.018, 95%CI: 1.93-74.825, p-0.004)]. Expenses in accessing vaccination services [OR=6.137, 95%CI: 2.025-18.601, p-0.018] were contributing factors to the co-infection;
Conclusion: Extension of HBV screening and treatment services to all HIV clients through community outreaches.
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